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| ▲ President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a Cabinet meeting held at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on March 5, 2026. (Pool photo) (Yonhap) |
Lee-reform drive
Lee urges caution over reform measures to minimize side effects
By Kim Eun-jung
SEOUL, March 9 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Jae Myung on Monday urged caution in pushing ahead with reform measures to minimize potential side effects, suggesting a "surgical correction" approach where necessary.
Lee reaffirmed his commitment to carrying out reform initiatives to address problems across various sectors, but stressed the need to avoid discouraging or hurting many members who are not involved in causing those problems.
"Reform often requires surgical correction," Lee wrote on social media platform X. "To resolve problems, it is essential to accurately identify their root causes and clearly distinguish what is right from what is wrong."
"Whether it is prosecution reform, labor and economic reform, media reform or judicial reform, that is how I believe reform should be approached," he added.
Even when pursuing necessary reforms, Lee said the government should avoid indiscriminately condemning everyone or treating all as targets of reform, warning against "burning down the whole house to catch a flea."
"No matter how difficult reform may be, we must never give up on it, but we must proceed with great caution to minimize the wounds and conflicts it may bring," he said.
Responding to a user's claim that the judiciary had politically targeted him when the Supreme Court overturned an earlier ruling that cleared him of election law violations less than a month before the June 2025 presidential election, Lee said the issue should not be seen as representing the entire judiciary. The top court later postponed hearings in the case after Lee took office.
"Although there are many problems in the public service sector, they are not the problems of all its members," Lee said. "While there are cases in the courts where justice is politically distorted, there are far more judges who courageously deliver rulings in accordance with the law and their conscience to uphold judicial justice and protect human rights."
The remarks came as the ruling Democratic Party is pushing for sweeping prosecution reform aimed at significantly curbing prosecutorial powers, while the government has signaled a more cautious and gradual approach to institutional reform.
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